Spontaneous Derivation

Academ’s Fury by Jim Butcher

Buy: 6.39

For fans of the Codex Alera series, by Jim Butcher (of Dresden Files fame), with the introduction of book 2 to the Kindle store, all the volumes are now up to date in the Kindle store:

• Book 1: Furies of Calderon
• Book 2: Academ’s Fury
• Book 3: Cursor’s Fury
• Book 4: Captain’s Fury

We await the December 2008 release of Book 5, Princeps’ Fury, with great interest.

Small Favor by Jim Butcher

Buy: 9.99

You’ll also find the entire Dresden Files series up to now in the Kindle store.

I find this a pleasingly pick-up-able series.¹ I started with the 8th book, Proven Guilty, and then picked up volumes back and forth. The most recently available book, in print or Kindle, is Small Favor.

We await the April 2009 release of the 11th book, Turn Coat, also with great interest.

Extras by Scott Westerfeld

Buy: 9.59

The third book remains missing from the Uglies series, though doubtless that situation will be remedied soon. In the meantime, the first two books and the most recent volume (Extras, featured here) are in the Kindle store:

• Book 1: Uglies
• Book 2: Pretties
• Set in the world but post Book 3 (Specials): Extras

We await the appearance of Specials with great interest. Also, if Scott Westerfield would like to write more books set in the world of Uglies, we would be extremely interested.

Ender in Exile by Orson Scott Card

Buy: 14.87

Tack another book fresh off the presses (both paper and electronic) onto the Ender’s Game series. Speaking of which, there’s not much in the Kindle store there as of this writing. Here are all of Card’s books in the Kindle store.

Dragonheart: Anne McCaffrey’s Dragonriders of Pern by Todd J. McCaffrey

Buy: 15.48

A continuation of the long-lived Dragonriders of Pern series by her son—and his first solo novel based on his mother’s world. I believe that most of the Pern series is currently in the Kindle store.

Destiny Kills by Keri Arthur

Buy: 5.59

Modern thriller/paranormal romance with dragons and mad scientists.

Heart and Soul by Sarah A. Hoyt

Buy: 5.59

The final volume in an alternate history trilogy focused on the early Victorian-era travels of British adventurer Nigel Oldhall, sort of an Alan Quatermain who keeps running into magical jems, supernatural foes, and mad foreign ministers everywhere he goes in the world.

The other two books in this series, Soul of Fire and Heart of Light, are also available on the Kindle.

The Tomorrow Code by Brian Falkner

Buy: 9.99

Your fortune says: It is not a good day when your future selves start sending you cryptic messages encoded in binary.

Star Trek: Destiny: Mere Mortals by David Mack

Buy: 5.59

Borg, Jean-luc Picard, Erzi Dax, William Riker, the U.S.S. Titan, and god-like beings who can mess with space and time and, unlike the Q, have absolutely no sense of humor whatsoever.

Fern Verdant and the Silver Rose by Diana Leszczynski

Buy: 9.99

Fern discovers that she can talk to plants. This is very important, because her botanist mother has been spirited away by malevolent forces, and only Fern has the key to finding her.

Twilight: The Complete Illustrated Movie Companion by Mark Cotta Vaz

Buy: 9.99

I’m not quite sure how well a complete illustrated movie companion guide will go over on the color-limited/contrast-specific Kindle. Nevertheless, this is in the Kindle store—although in this case, I strongly suggest you get the print edition instead.

The Demonata #7: Death’s Shadow by Darren Shan

Buy: 9.99

A horror series for young adults, and I mean serious horror gore here, with every single demonic and/or evil creature you can imagine involved. Yes, and zombies. An 8th book is on the way, and the entire Demonata series is available for the Kindle.

One Silent Night by Sherrilyn Kenyon

Buy: 6.99

Stryker wants to kill us all. Yes, with his army of demons and vampires. But then his ex-wife of several centuries shows up, and there is, shall we say, a throw-down. Kind of the almost exact opposite of a paranormal romance.

Prince of Stories: The Many Worlds of Neil Gaiman by Christopher Golden, Hank Wagner, And Stephen R. Bissette

Buy: 17.79

The ultimate guide to Neil Gaiman’s fiction, with exclusive interviews and rare glimpses at beginnings and unpublished work, in its dead tree incarnation this thing is huge. Consider it the DVD extras to all of Neil Gaiman’s work ’til now.

Just After Sunset by Stephen King

Buy: 9.99

You know you’ve made it when your name and a moderately ominous title alone sells like hotcakes. All jokes aside, this is a different turn than usual for King, since this is a collection of recent short stories rather than a single novel.

Orphan’s Alliance by Robert Buettner

Buy: 6.39

Military science fiction, the most recent in the Orphan series, all of which are present on the Kindle, including: Orphanage, Orphan’s Destiny, and Orphan’s Journey.

The Reawakened by Jeri Smith-Ready

Buy: 9.99

This is not your typical Harlequin book. In the last of a trilogy, Rhia, bestowed with the gift of Crow, and her people must fight for their freedom and their land in an epic fantasy with its own mythology. The other two books in this trilogy, Eyes of Crow and Voice of Crow, are both available for the Kindle.

Death Cry by James Axler

Buy: 5.04

Really not your typical Harlequin novel: in a post-apocalyptic world, aliens control the world, and the Russians have managed to hide a doomsday weapon. The problem is, having the earth destroyed under your feet is still worse than fighting against tyrannical alien overlords. It’s up to Kane and his team of Cerebus Intelligence rogues to save the world. Again. More of the Outlanders series here.

Swordsman’s Legacy by Alex Archer

Buy: 5.04

Picture in your mind: Indiana Jones. But female. And with way better adventures, in action and intelligence, and characters than Tomb Raider—because believe me, Lara Croft ain’t no Indiana Jones even if you factor out the plus/minus of stacks/gear.

Plus Annja Creed has the mystical sword of Joan of Arc.

There’s an entire series of this.

Dark Isle by D.A. Nelson

Buy: 9.99

A young adult novel in the Roald Dahl crossed with Narnia model, involving 10-year-old Morag who escapes her less-than-loving foster parents to rescue a magical world from an evil warlock.

If you’re somewhat shocked to hear that her companions are a magical talking rat and a dodo bird, you’re probably a Neil Gaiman fan like me and remember the allusions to Barbie’s dreamscapes, but this isn’t like them (there’s a dragon instead of a giant dog, for one, and I don’t think all the rats in his family are all named Aldiss).

The Darkest Touch by Jaci Burton

Buy: 5.59

Paranormal romance/thriller, with an archaelogist holding a forbidden black diamond on the run from a demon hunter. Things escalate into a demon warfare, and the the party really gets going. She does not, unfortunately, hold the sword of Joan of Arc.

Bird by Rita Murphy

Buy: 9.99

I’ll finish with something that came up earlier, but I missed due to not having Delacorte on my list of publishers to watch. Bird is a surreal fantasy, beginning with an orphaned Miranda brought by the wind to the doorstep of the cold, dark manor of a widow, who gives her iron boots to ground her but little else.

Secrets, about the manor and her former life, begin to unwind when Miranda meets a mysterious boy named Farley.

By the Sword: A Repairman Jack Novel by F. Paul Wilson

Buy: 17.13

An urban mercenary who faces criminals, street gangs, ninjas, mystics, cultists, and supernatural beings. It’s just another day in the life of Repairman Jack, who runs amuck in his own series, which includes many books cheaper than $17.13, including

• Harbingers $7.99
• Infernal $7.19
• Gateways $7.19
• The Haunted Air $7.99
• Hosts $6.39

And finally, there’s also a young-adult spinoff with a teenage Repairman Jack, first of a three-part series: Jack: Secret Histories.

Also, repairmanjack.com is available for all your Repairman Jack needs. Or feeding thereof.

The story “The Long Way Home” is available as an Amazon short for less than $0.50.

Swallowing Darkness: A Novel by Laurell K. Hamilton

Buy: 9.99

Laurell K. Hamilton does faeries. Yes. This is either thrilling you or horrifying you.

Gears of War: Aspho Fields by Karen Traviss

Buy: 8.00

The first tie-in novel for the hit game Gears of War, exploring the history, friendship, and tribulations of Marcus Fenix and Dominic Santiago. Oh, and lots of battle scenes. This is Gears of War.

The Horror Stories of Robert E. Howard by Robert E. Howard

Buy: 8.00

Classics from the master of horror that both Lovecraft and Stephen King respect. (”For stark, living fear… what other writer is even in the running?” Lovecraft supposedly said.) Includes stories like “Pigeons from Hell”, “Black Canaan”, “Worms of the Earth”, and more.

Night Secrets by Cherry Adair

Buy: 5.59

The sequel to the paranormal romance Night Fall, also available on the Kindle.

Quofum by Alan Dean Foster

Buy: 9.99

Part of the Humanx Commonwealth far-future political-intrigue-with-aliens series, world-building that spans an enormous number of books.

The Drowned Life by Jeffrey Ford

Buy: 9.59

A collection of short surreal stories themed around drowning (or being overwhelmed), starting with a city of the drowned and a father who wishes to return to the surface to fulfill a promise made to his son, and moving through 16 very different and evocative SF/Fantasy tales.

The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe by C.S. Lewis

Buy: 3.95

The entire classic Narnia series is now available for the Kindle for extremely low prices (down to $1.95 for The Last Battle), including:

• The Magician’s Nephew
• The Voyage of the Dawn Treader
• The Horse and His Boy
• Prince Caspian
• The Silver Chair
• The Last Battle

All I Want for Christmas Is a Vampire by Kerrelyn Sparks

Buy: 5.59

If only I weren’t completely burned out on vampires, because her How to Marry a Millionaire Vampire was a fun and brilliant sparkle in the drudgery that can be the paranormal romance pool. This looks to be more of the same.

For all you folks who are still looking for romantic comedies done up in Christmas and vampires, this is totally your book.

Fallen Angel by Margaret Weis And Lizz Weis

Buy: 5.59

An angel without faith. An innocent but feisty woman who persuades him to join a rock band she manages. A rock star in league with the devil and who wants to bring the world to an end. It’s paranormal romance with angels, and with a male lead.

Galactic Corps by Ian Douglas

Buy: 6.39

Military science fiction, second book in the Inheritance series (which starts out with Star Strike). As one reviewer puts it, “In which our heroes go to the center of the galaxy, see new and interesting enemies, and blow things up.”

Dead Reign by Tim Pratt

Buy: 5.59

Featured at John Scalzi’s Whatever Big Idea series, and a particularly entertaining one. You can also read a short story featuring the main character, Marla Mason, for free: “Pale Dog”. Also, she apparently twitters.

Graceling by Kristin Cashore

Buy: 9.99

The first book in a series. A girl marked from birth as a warrior, bestowed with the Grace—of a kind that lets her kill efficiently. A romance and a fantasy, featuring a strong main character who must reach beyond her isolation and come to terms with her power.

This book has garnered numerous positive reviews on the Amazon Vine program (high-ranking reviewers are invited to join this group that receives free advanced reading copies to review early). Quite a lot of them, actually.

Shadow’s Edge by Brent Weeks

Buy: 6.39

The second in the Night Angel fantasy trilogy (which started with The Way of Shadows). An orphan boy grows up as an assassin trained in the Way of Shadows, but rejects his upbringing and attempts to start his life afresh. You know what that means: trouble.